How to create a single setup.exe using visual studio 2010?

Question

When I am publishing my project, it creates a folder named "Application Files" and two files named "ProjectName.application" and "setup.exe". But I am not expecting this. When I publish my project/solution it will create a single setup.exe and no ohter folder and files will create there.

Answer 1

The app.application manifest file and setup.exe are the so-called smart client deployment model. AFAIK, you can provide a link to app.application on a webpage and .NET aware browsers are able to download necessary files from the manifest.

If you need a setup package that end users can click-and-install, you should use a setup creator like the one VS 2010 suggests - InstallShield Express.